5 comments:

Thank you for what you are doing for our community and taking this very broad challenge on.

Human Rights Campaign and the associated political folks definitely seem ready to chuck us under the bus at a whim. I'm not sure how to change this even if it is changeable. I do know that we (our community) needs to figure out how to help our selves- without losing allies and creating more elites thinking they speak and determine whos who and whats what.

You'd think that the LGBT... would get it's collective "act" together on what things mean... Seems like there's the "GLAAD" definition of "transgender" as an umbrella term (where TS/IS effectively disappear - or seem to) and other groups (s...urprisingly - based on all I've read and heard - including HRC) where transgender has a specific meaning and it's equivalent to transsexual (at least where their Corporate Equality Index is concerned).

And we're surprised that the general public, many advocates AND the media is confused.

I am 61 years old and have been involved in activism for longer than most posting here have been alive. I first sought help at Johns Hopkins in 1974. I only speak from MY experiences and observations of the orgs and groups over the years. I... have identified as transgender in the distant past and have done drag. I don't claim to be "better" - I am just "different" than I was back then. I mean NO disrespect to the TG community but only acknowledgment that the IS a difference between those that have taken the years of psych/medical/legal steps toward recognition (ts/is) and those that simply comfortable with a tg label. (Actual surgical status pre or post has NOTHING to do with it) I have been volunteering with EqMd for YEARS. I have testified, done advocacy work in Washington DC and spoke at the National Press Club for the NGLTF. I have personally seen that they all have NO TS/IS women but always have transmen on staff.

Annette, actually they use the transbrella term to describe the entire 'other' group until it is used when trying to push laws or inclusive insurance policies or the like. Then it is up to those we are talking to to just figure it out on their own. They are using us as their secret weapon. Why is it so hard to say Transsexual or Transsexualism when discussing reasons for passing certain laws and insurance policy inclusions?

Ashley: I just want to say I totally agree with you. The intent to throw TS and IS women into the TG mix is an intent to deny their difference. Any "movement" that is so desperate that it needs to deny the difference between different individuals within a group speaks to the inherit insecurity of the those within the group who need to deny the differences. What's driving them? BIGOTRY. If the so-called Transgender movement were so secure within themselves, they wouldn't need to engage in these specious and spurious attacks on a relatively small group of women, and that's what I call myself. I would think, based on what you've posted, that's what you call yourself as well.